China begins returning samples from moon's far side
China started bringing back the world's first lunar samples from the far side of the moon on Tuesday as part of the Chang'e-6 mission, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The ascender of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft took off at 7:48 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the moon's surface to dock with the orbiter-returner combo and will eventually bring the samples back to Earth. The 3000N engine operated for about six minutes and successfully sent the ascender into the designated lunar orbit.
The Chang'e-6 lunar probe was launched on May 3. Its lander-ascender combo landed on the moon on June 2. The probe spent 48 hours and completed intelligent rapid sampling in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon and then encapsulated the samples into storage devices carried by the ascender according to plan.
Intelligent sampling is one of the key stages of the Chang'e-6 mission. The probe withstood the high temperatures on the far side of the moon and successfully collected lunar samples by two methods: surface sampling with a robotic arm and drilling.
An illustration of the Chang'e-6 lunar probe on the far side of the moon. /CNSA via CMG
Researchers at the ground laboratory used data sent back by the Queqiao-2 relay satellite to simulate the geographic model of the sampling area and the sampling process, providing important support for sampling decisions.
Jin Shengyi with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation knows the process well. He said the first step to successful sample gathering is having exact replicas made of the probe's work area, some 380,000 kilometers away.
He explained that when the lander lands on the lunar surface, it needs to first have perceptual imaging of the location. So, his team on the ground analyzed the data and built a digital model of the location. Then they built a physical replica based of the digital model that resembles the lunar surface environment 1:1.
"We place a sample-gathering mechanism in this replica environment, which is also tuned to the same status as the one on the moon," Jin said. "In this reconstructed physical environment, we select sampling points and establish sampling strategies and also verify them in this reconstructed environment."
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